Ricky Gervais, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz's Bad Accent: Three Previews

We've got a trio of exciting new trailers today. There's Ricky Gervais' new comedy that he wrote and directed, Richard "Donnie Darko" Kelly's bizarre-looking new horror flick, and a more detailed preview of Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's new romp. More »

Spoiler Alert: The Winner in Monsters vs. Aliens is...Dreamworks!

Chopping Block gets chopped, J.J. Abrams gets extended, and Ricky Gervais' next film will be unlike anything he's ever done before except for The Office. More »

Svelte Ricky Gervais Will Never Stop Making Fun of Fat People

It appears that Ricky Gervais has taken Simon Pegg's weight-related criticism to heart, as the Oscars-eschewing star has begun slamming the overweight in the press, causing some controversy. And he's not taking it back!

For Your Razzie Consideration: 'The Spirit'

· The Oscar race may be all over the place, but at least the Razzies have a clear front runner this year. Still, a slickly packaged FYC spot never hurts. [via TotalFilm.com]

Oscar-Eluding Ricky Gervais Just Fine With Obscure Flops, Thank You Very Much

Despite its principals' best efforts, the Ricky Gervais Oscar-hosting whispers simply will. Not. Die. But Gervais, who has downplayed the possibility since his Emmy-saving bit in September involuntarily sprung him into candidacy, has his foot squarely on the rumor's throat today with his strongest denial yet. And we paraphrase: Who wants that bullshit job, anyway?

Courtney Love's 60-Blog-Post Freakout

• Apparently Courtney Love said something about being suicidal amid her 60 (!!) blog posts Sunday but she also said her mood was "pirate" (good, right??) and that "ebaz and mj dresses saved my life." Also putting on a dress made her feel pretty. Also: "Dada, circus."
• NBC's Dan Abrams and supermodel Elle Macpherson are an item. [P6]
• After a fan committed suicide in front of her house, Paula Abdul hired "healers" to get rid of ghosts, and still is convinced the place is haunted. [P6]
• Sean Combs: ""I shave and groom my private areas." Good morning to you too, Sean. [R&M - second item]
• No one tell Ricky Gervais the pound is now worth less than $1.50. The city needs all the economic stimulus it can get [R&M - third item]
• Oil heir Brandon Davis is now said to be a degenerate gambler, in addition to a sponge. [P6]
• Madonna is crushing Britney Spears' only-recently-revived hopes and dreams. [Showbiz Spy]
• Miley Cyrus is not dead. [E!]

Ricky Gervais and Thandie Newton Add British Class to Sarah Palin Porn Film

Ricky Gervais said recently that Sarah Palin could have played his role in The Office, and it looks like turnabout is fair play for the comedian, who took part in his own Sarah Palin pas a deux on Graham Norton's talk show this week. Never fear, Simon Pegg's portly rival wasn't playing the veep candidate himself — that honor fell to Thandie Newton, extending the political impersonation duties she honed playing Condi Rice in W. Oh, one other thing? According to Norton, the script he had both actors read was a scene from Nailin' Paylin, the instantly notorious, Hustler-produced porn film starring a decidedly more fulsome Palin doppleganger. Lest you ever doubt the ability of British actors to spin gold from dross, the Gervais/Newton recreation immediately racked up five Oscar nominations from an insecure, California-bred Academy. [Graham Norton]

Handbags and Gladrags: If the presidential election doesn't work out for Sarah Palin, Ricky Gervais thinks she has a future in television comedy. Comparing her to the role he played in the UK version of The Office, he says, "Sarah Palin is David Brent. She is! There's so much comedy value in watching her talk." Certainly, we can't think of an Office moment as awkward as that Katie Couric interview — but does that make John McCain her Gareth? In other news, Gervais is playing hard-to-get when it comes to the Oscars, which he has been tipped to host. "I don't think I'd get the freedom I needed," he told the BBC. Executive producer Bill Condon, if we even hear you so much as mention the words, "Howie Mandel"... [Yahoo]

Peace Restored Between Simon Pegg and 'Fat Idiot' Ricky Gervais

Yesterday, we brought you news of a budding feud between two British funnymen genuinely beloved at Defamer HQ: Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg and possible Emmy host Ricky Gervais. If you'll recall, Pegg appeared on a British radio program and branded Gervais an "idiot" for his comments on the British film industry, eventually dismissing him as "one of the fat people in LA." Yesterday, Gervais took to his blog to respond: More »

In the Battle of the British Funnymen, Simon Pegg Calls Ricky Gervais a 'Fat Idiot'

In the annals of celebrity feuds, we tend to prefer the light-hearted frivolity of a Seth Green/Shia LeBeouf dustup to the knock-down, "no one gets away unscathed" fights like Alec Baldwin on Greg Garcia. That's why we're so stymied by the latest and most unlikely entry in the feud genre: the war of words between Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg and Ricky Gervais, the Emmy-honored creator of Extras and The Office. So far, the battle (instigated by Pegg's mouthy appearance on a British radio show) is one-sided, but we fear a rebuttal from Gervais could embroil both talented comedians in a zero-sum rivalry. The Telegraph has the scoop: More »

Joan Rivers on Tom Hanks, Ricky Gervais, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus: 'Nazis'

Bounced from E!, the TV Guide Channel, and even Stylelist.com, times have been tough for red carpet commentators Joan and Melissa Rivers. For this week's Emmy ceremony, the two were reduced to vlogging for MyHollywood.com, though the deal came with one potential upside: their patter was supposed to receive a link from AOL. However, higher-ups at AOL changed their minds when they got a gander at the footage where Rivers calls some of Hollywood's most beloved stars (including Tom Hanks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Heidi Klum) "Nazis." Said Rivers to Page Six: More »

Oscars to Be 100% Funnier/Gayer With Ricky Gervais and Bill Condon At The Helm

Are you still trying to scrub the memory of those heinous Emmy awards from your brain? Perhaps this rumor will do the trick. We can all agree that one of the only bright spots of the awards were when Ricky Gervais did that “give me my Emmy” bit with Steve Carell. Well, according to E-Dubs (that’s Entertainment Weekly for you laymen), after that performance, “his reps were besieged with inquiries about his availability and were urged to book a meeting with Academy Awards organizers, stat.” So does that mean Ricky’s gonna host the Oscars? He’d probably do an incredible job, and frankly, he’s the only host who actually feels exciting these days. We’ve already been down the Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres roads, Billy Crystal has been M.I.A. for years, and if they go with Whoopi again, America will pluck out its collective eyeballs in protest. So why not give a Brit a chance? More »

Police Brutality Strikes Keira, Kate and Dakota at the Box Office

Welcome back to Defamer Attractions, your official tastemaking Bible for everything new and noteworthy at the movies. The second week of the fall season offers another mixed harvest of Oscar bait, multiplex placeholders and indie hopefuls, none more eagerly anticipated than the historically skeevy Dakota Fanning 2.0 drama Hounddog. But we'll get to that momentarily, along with this week's worthwhile DVD releases and an all-call for your own recommendations. As always, our opinions are our own — in times like these, who really wants to share? More »

Katie Holmes Trying To Hold Everything Together

Ricky Gervais and John Hodgeman Explore Superpowers, Breasticles

Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible? The Office and Extras creator Ricky Gervais explains the pitfalls of flight to The Daily Show's John Hodgman. Also? Penis nipples and breast testicles. More »

Small Newspaper Puts TV Star On Notice

Last week, British the Office star Ricky Gervais posted a video to his personal blog that both mocked his Office character and had fun at the expense of an entertainment column in the Lowell, Massachusetts Sun, paper for a town where Gervais was scouting locations for his new movie. Since then, the Sun columnist in question has replied to Gervais' video, seemingly in soft, celebrity-friendly tones, but also with some sentences that could be read as vaguely threatening: More »

HaHa

Tina Fey has been cast in Ricky Gervais' directorial debut film This Side of Truth, which will also feature Christopher Guest, Jeffery Tambor, John Hodgman (whee!), and Jonah Hill, among others. Funnee overload! Let's hope they don't all cancel each other out and just stand around blinking for two hours.

The Office Star Mocks Your Tiny Local Paper

Ricky Gervais, star of the original British version of deadpan TV comedy the Office, just started a personal blog and has already resorted to that old blogger standby, local media criticism. But Gervais' video sendup of the Lowell, Mass. Sun is, as you'd expect, far more entertaining than the local press commentary most internet cranks churn out. The comedian's short skit is delivered in the deceptively gentle tones of Gervais' Office character and mocks the character's own pomposity. At the same time, it nails the defining pitfalls of community journalism — the typos, excessive attribution, bizarre story placement, awkward prose — as Gervais dissembles the Sun's page-11 coverage of pre-production on his new movie, This Side Of Truth. Any hack who earned his stripes at a small-newspaper city desk will cringe in sympathy. Video after the jump. More »

NBC Deleting 'IT Crowd'?

· NBC might be aborting the only new comedy it was planning to launch this year, its midseason adaptation of the British sitcom The IT Crowd—a potentially surprising development given that newly installed programming rock-star Ben Silverman's entire development philosophy involves the recycling of foreign hits for American eyeballs. [THR] More »

We Could Never Begrudge Ricky Gervais An Easy Payday

· Ricky Gervais will star in Early Retirement, a pitch Warner Bros. bought about a a workoholic who—get ready for it—quits his job to spend more time with his family, a decision we're sure has uproariously hilarious, unforeseen consequences. [Variety] More »

April Showers Bring May Magazine Conferences

There are times when a magazine is more than just a magazine. Times like springtime! The season when ideas become conversations and bylines jump to life; when the caterpillar sheds its larval newsprint and blossoms, at last, into a butterfly in flight about the z calo. By next month, it'll be happening in twos, as the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine both put on their nice clothes and venture into the world of the living with a pair of star-studded public conferences. Each will deliver its parent publication's noted intellects in a neat, bow-topped basket of brains, all spit-shined and freshly painted. But which to choose if you've got only one weekend and, say, no more than a month's rent or so to devote to the zeitgeist hunt? More »

Media Bubble: Lady Black Strikes Again